The race track confirmed the death of the 42-year-old driver in a Facebook post late Saturday.

"Desoto Speedway owners and staff are saddened by tonight's passing of David Steele in the Sprint car feature," the post read. "Thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends who were all in attendance, to see him try to win his 100th Florida race."

According to racing website SpeedSport.com, Steele crashed while trying to get around lapped traffic in awinged sprint car race in theSouthern Sprintcar Shootout Series event. Desoto Speedway is a three-eighth-mile asphalt oval in Bradenton, Fla.

Steele competed in numerous racing series during his career, but he's best known for winning back-to-back USAC Silver Crown championships in 2004-2005.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s Steele tried his hand at several other racing series. He drove in three IndyCar Seriesraces, a couple of NASCAR Busch Series races, a handful of ARCA races and two Infiniti Pro Series events.

Fellow competitors shared their shock and condolences on Steele's death late Saturday.

Our prayers go out to the family of Dave Steele. Our former teammate, he was one of the best open-wheel drivers of this era. Godspeed - TSR